ATI Radeon 9500 Pro : Mezzo-mezzo

Finally got my Radeon 9500 Pro firing on all cylinders. (Well, 6 outta 8 ain't bad.) Quick take: runs the new games (particularly the DX9-only demos) very nicely, BUT... not what you want for GPL. In the OpenGL mode, it's palpably slower than the hoary GF2 GTS it replaced. Moreover, it shows some oddball artifacts, such as what looks like a couple of burned out pixels in mid-screen...only I'm not runing an LCD monitor. In the DX mode, it's about as fast as my trusty nVidia part. Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... --Steve

"Steve Smith"

Quoted text (8 lines)

> > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > --Steve >

I think I recall there was a hex edit you had to preform to 'open' the 9.5c's up to overclocking. One of the OC sites might have more info on that. dave henrie

Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500 turn into a 9700, very cool... :-) -- Edward Commissioner Middle-Aged Racers Association (MARA) http://members.rogers.com/ecrawford1/mara/maramain.htm "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:QpGV9.3456$[email hidden]... > Finally got my Radeon 9500 Pro firing on all cylinders. (Well, 6 outta 8 > ain't bad.) > > Quick take: runs the new games (particularly the DX9-only demos) very > nicely, > > BUT... > > not what you want for GPL. > > In the OpenGL mode, it's palpably slower than the hoary GF2 GTS it replaced. > Moreover, it shows some oddball artifacts, such as what looks like a couple > of burned out pixels in mid-screen...only I'm not runing an LCD monitor. > > In the DX mode, it's about as fast as my trusty nVidia part. > > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > --Steve > >

NOT the 9500 Pro, only the 9500 non pro. The Pro has only 128-bit memory. The 9500 shares the same PCB as the 9700 (256-bit) with the only difference being slower ram and 4 of 8 pipelines disabled (likely 9700 gpu rejects that are creatively labeled and sold as 9500's). The software simply activates the other 4 pipelines. I've read 30 pages of posts and the results are mixed. Not a worthwhile risk to get stuck with a non pro 9500 if the soft9700 fails (the more posts I see, the more the failure % goes UP from the initial claim of 30%). You're better off with a GF4 Ti 4400 at www.newegg.com for $191 ($30 more than a 9500). FWIW, I have an IDENTICAL system to a guy who used soft9700 - AMD1600/512MB RAM/ECS MOBO - the only difference is my GF4 Ti 4400. I was pleasantly surprised to see his 3dmark fps wasn't that much better than mine with 9700 performance (certainly not incentive for me to upgrade). I'm sure his biggest advantage is limited to FSAA, which is great but I can still hold out until I see with the Geforce FX can do with FSAA. -- Joe M. "EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500 turn > into a 9700, very cool... :-) > > -- > Edward > Commissioner > Middle-Aged Racers Association (MARA) > http://members.rogers.com/ecrawford1/mara/maramain.htm > > > "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:QpGV9.3456$[email hidden]... > > Finally got my Radeon 9500 Pro firing on all cylinders. (Well, 6 outta 8 > > ain't bad.) > > > > Quick take: runs the new games (particularly the DX9-only demos) very > > nicely, > > > > BUT... > > > > not what you want for GPL. > > > > In the OpenGL mode, it's palpably slower than the hoary GF2 GTS it > replaced. > > Moreover, it shows some oddball artifacts, such as what looks like a > couple > > of burned out pixels in mid-screen...only I'm not runing an LCD monitor. > > > > In the DX mode, it's about as fast as my trusty nVidia part. > > > > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > > > --Steve > > > > > >

Also meant to say it's not nearly as stable as the GeForce & 30.82 Dets - screen occasionally fills with psychedelic garbage, inexplicable CTDs, etc. Which is why I'm not anxious to o'clock it. It's fast enough for the processor it's attached to (a 1.3-Ghz T'bird). It just seems far less polished than the nVidia part. "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted text (15 lines)

> "Steve Smith" > > > > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > > > --Steve > > > I think I recall there was a hex edit you had to preform to 'open' the > 9.5c's up to overclocking. One of the OC sites might have more info on > that. > dave henrie > >

And...I also meant to say the 9500 Pro is faster (with 'modern' PC games) than either the GF4 4400 I tried in the same box or the Abit Siluro GF4 4200 Ti (the fastest GeForce in my vast collection of second-tier video cards). This is subjective; I don't 'do' abstract benchmarks...or even pay much attention to suspect frame-rate counters like GPL's quirky Alt-F or FRAPS. End of comments. "EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500turn

Quoted text (12 lines)

> into a 9700, very cool... :-) > > -- > Edward > Commissioner > Middle-Aged Racers Association (MARA) > http://members.rogers.com/ecrawford1/mara/maramain.htm > > > "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:QpGV9.3456$[email hidden]... > > Finally got my Radeon 9500 Pro firing on all cylinders. (Well, 6 outta

8

Quoted text (27 lines)

> > ain't bad.) > > > > Quick take: runs the new games (particularly the DX9-only demos) very > > nicely, > > > > BUT... > > > > not what you want for GPL. > > > > In the OpenGL mode, it's palpably slower than the hoary GF2 GTS it > replaced. > > Moreover, it shows some oddball artifacts, such as what looks like a > couple > > of burned out pixels in mid-screen...only I'm not runing an LCD monitor. > > > > In the DX mode, it's about as fast as my trusty nVidia part. > > > > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > > > --Steve > > > > > >

Okay, d/l'd & ran Reg Cleaner (see thread below - GRT pgm., BTW!) and it fixed the corrupt texture probs (altho not--altogether--the mysterious missing pixels), but it's still 5 fps SLOWER under OpenGL in GPL than in DirectX (the opposite was true with my trusty nVidia GF2). The best card I've ever seen for GPL is the old GF2 Ultra (you can still find them, new, for abt. $50), but of course it's hopeless for the latest, greatest games like NOLF2, etc. "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:p3SV9.6489$[email hidden]... > Also meant to say it's not nearly as stable as the GeForce & 30.82 Dets - > screen occasionally fills with psychedelic garbage, inexplicable CTDs,etc.

Quoted text (16 lines)

> Which is why I'm not anxious to o'clock it. It's fast enough for the > processor it's attached to (a 1.3-Ghz T'bird). It just seems far less > polished than the nVidia part. > > "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > "Steve Smith" > > > > > > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > > > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > > > > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > > > > > --Steve > > > > > I think I recall there was a hex edit you had to preform to 'open'

the

Quoted text (7 lines)

> > 9.5c's up to overclocking. One of the OC sites might have more info on > > that. > > dave henrie > > > > > >

Nvidia cards have always been better in OpenGL than DX that I can remeber. That is why we have the unsupported option of OpenGL in NR2002. Personaly I don't like OpenGL image quality compared to DX. MadDAWG

Steve, is the Radeon faster in Dx than the GF2 Ultra was in OpenGL? Achim "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:RETV9.7168$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (7 lines)

> Okay, d/l'd & ran Reg Cleaner (see thread below - GRT pgm., BTW!) and it > fixed the corrupt texture probs (altho not--altogether--the mysterious > missing pixels), but it's still 5 fps SLOWER under OpenGL in GPL than in > DirectX (the opposite was true with my trusty nVidia GF2). The best card > I've ever seen for GPL is the old GF2 Ultra (you can still find them, new, > for abt. $50), but of course it's hopeless for the latest, greatest games > like NOLF2, etc.

I like nVidia's OpenGL visuals better than their the way DX looks, but not *nearly* as much as 3Dfx's Glide, alas.... "MadDAWG" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Nvidia cards have always been better in OpenGL than DX that I can remeber. > That is why we have the unsupported option of OpenGL in NR2002. PersonalyI > don't like OpenGL image quality compared to DX. > > MadDAWG > >

Hi Achim, No. With everything else equal, at the back of the grid @ Monza, the GF2 Ultra (OpenGL) gives ca. 24 fps the GF2 Ultra (DirectX), ca. 20 fps the 9500 Pro (OpenGL), ca. 14 fps the 9500 Pro (DirectX), ca. 18 fps I also noticed that the momentary *dip* in the frame rate when the race starts is less with the 9500 Pro under DX8.1b than with the GF2 GTS Pro in OpenGL, i.e., the ATI stands up better under duress. The big improvement is in Ghost Recon. In some mods, like Harntrox's "Destroyer" or Nami's "Downtown" (honk if you love the Bakara market), where the bodies *really* pile up in one place, the previous GF2 GTS Pro (I don't have anything on the GF2 Ultra machine but racing games) would start stuttering like mad. With the 9500 Pro, the frame rate starts out abt. the same, but holds up as the carnage develops visually. --Steve "Joachim Trensz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b09ask$n71sq$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (11 lines)

> Steve, is the Radeon faster in Dx than the GF2 Ultra was in OpenGL? > > Achim > > > "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:RETV9.7168$[email hidden]... > > Okay, d/l'd & ran Reg Cleaner (see thread below - GRT pgm., BTW!) and it > > fixed the corrupt texture probs (altho not--altogether--the mysterious > > missing pixels), but it's still 5 fps SLOWER under OpenGL in GPL than in > > DirectX (the opposite was true with my trusty nVidia GF2). The best

card > > I've ever seen for GPL is the old GF2 Ultra (you can still find them,new, > > for abt. $50), but of course it's hopeless for the latest, greatestgames > > like NOLF2, etc. > >

I reckon you'd be better off with the highly o'clockable Abit Siluro GF4 4200 Ti. It's a pistol right outta the box, and you can speed it up to near-4600 levels with little fear of damage. Besides, the O.T.E.S. blows out more hot air than the exhaust array of the Millennium Falcon! "Joe M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > NOT the 9500 Pro, only the 9500 non pro. The Pro has only 128-bit memory. > The 9500 shares the same PCB as the 9700 (256-bit) with the onlydifference > being slower ram and 4 of 8 pipelines disabled (likely 9700 gpu rejectsthat

Quoted text (8 lines)

> are creatively labeled and sold as 9500's). The software simply activates > the other 4 pipelines. I've read 30 pages of posts and the results are > mixed. Not a worthwhile risk to get stuck with a non pro 9500 if the > soft9700 fails (the more posts I see, the more the failure % goes UP from > the initial claim of 30%). You're better off with a GF4 Ti 4400 at > www.newegg.com for $191 ($30 more than a 9500). > > FWIW, I have an IDENTICAL system to a guy who used soft9700 -

AMD1600/512MB > RAM/ECS MOBO - the only difference is my GF4 Ti 4400. I was pleasantly > surprised to see his 3dmark fps wasn't that much better than mine with9700

Quoted text (24 lines)

> performance (certainly not incentive for me to upgrade). I'm sure his > biggest advantage is limited to FSAA, which is great but I can still hold > out until I see with the Geforce FX can do with FSAA. > > -- > Joe M. > > > "EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500 > turn > > into a 9700, very cool... :-) > > > > -- > > Edward > > Commissioner > > Middle-Aged Racers Association (MARA) > > http://members.rogers.com/ecrawford1/mara/maramain.htm > > > > > > "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:QpGV9.3456$[email hidden]... > > > Finally got my Radeon 9500 Pro firing on all cylinders. (Well, 6

outta

Quoted text (15 lines)

> 8 > > > ain't bad.) > > > > > > Quick take: runs the new games (particularly the DX9-only demos) very > > > nicely, > > > > > > BUT... > > > > > > not what you want for GPL. > > > > > > In the OpenGL mode, it's palpably slower than the hoary GF2 GTS it > > replaced. > > > Moreover, it shows some oddball artifacts, such as what looks like a > > couple > > > of burned out pixels in mid-screen...only I'm not runing an LCD

monitor.

Quoted text (15 lines)

> > > > > > In the DX mode, it's about as fast as my trusty nVidia part. > > > > > > Goes like gangbusters in GTR2002, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honor, Rally > > > Championship, TIR, BMX Volleyball, etc. > > > > > > Now, lessee if it o'clocks like the 'experts' say it should.... > > > > > > --Steve > > > > > > > > > > > >

Thanks for the info Steve. Achim "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:bkZV9.8226$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (17 lines)

> Hi Achim, > > No. > > With everything else equal, at the back of the grid @ Monza, > > the GF2 Ultra (OpenGL) gives ca. 24 fps > the GF2 Ultra (DirectX), ca. 20 fps > the 9500 Pro (OpenGL), ca. 14 fps > the 9500 Pro (DirectX), ca. 18 fps > > I also noticed that the momentary *dip* in the frame rate when the race > starts is less with the 9500 Pro under DX8.1b than with the GF2 GTS Pro in > OpenGL, i.e., the ATI stands up better under duress. > > The big improvement is in Ghost Recon. In some mods, like Harntrox's > "Destroyer" or Nami's "Downtown" (honk if you love the Bakara market),

where > the bodies *really* pile up in one place, the previous GF2 GTS Pro (Idon't > have anything on the GF2 Ultra machine but racing games) would start > stuttering like mad. With the 9500 Pro, the frame rate starts out abt.the > same, but holds up as the carnage develops visually.

"Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:q4ZV9.8146$[email hidden]: > I like nVidia's OpenGL visuals better than their the way DX looks, but > not *nearly* as much as 3Dfx's Glide, alas.... > DON'T!!! Don't get me started....:) dave henrie

'k "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted text (9 lines)

> "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in > news:q4ZV9.8146$[email hidden]: > > > I like nVidia's OpenGL visuals better than their the way DX looks, but > > not *nearly* as much as 3Dfx's Glide, alas.... > > > > DON'T!!! Don't get me started....:) > dave henrie

> mixed. Not a worthwhile risk to get stuck with a non pro 9500 if the > soft9700 fails (the more posts I see, the more the failure % goes UP from > the initial claim of 30%). You're better off with a GF4 Ti 4400 at > www.newegg.com for $191 ($30 more than a 9500). I'm guessing at least half of those are doing the softmod wrong. Then probably 20% of the others may have other problems. OS , PSU, too much overclocking, etc. My guess is only 30% really are not able to be modded.

"EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500 turn > into a 9700, very cool... :-) It is indeed 12849 3D Marks not even overclocked yet. !! Have not regretted getting rid of my GeForce. GPL runs like a dream no probs here.

"EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500 turn > into a 9700, very cool... :-) It is indeed 12849 3D Marks not even overclocked yet. !! Have not regretted getting rid of my GeForce. GPL runs like a dream no probs here.

"EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500 turn > into a 9700, very cool... :-) It is indeed 12849 3D Marks not even overclocked yet. !! Have not regretted getting rid of my GeForce. GPL runs like a dream no probs here.

Yeah, but it has screwed up your SEND button something fierce! :) Larry "Jon T" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1gf_9.2$[email hidden]... > > "EdwardC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:l9LV9.1195$[email hidden]... > > Steve, get the latest Rivatuner, it has "soft9700" which makes the 9500turn

Quoted text (8 lines)

> > into a 9700, very cool... :-) > > > It is indeed 12849 3D Marks not even overclocked yet. !! > Have not regretted getting rid of my GeForce. > GPL runs like a dream no probs here. > >